The Green Party of Louisiana is a state-level political party affiliated with the
Green Party of the United States
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy, grassroot ...
(GPUS). The nominee of the GPUS has been on every presidential ballot in the state since 1996.
The 2014 convention of the Green Party of Louisiana was held in
and featured former presidential nominee
Jill Stein
Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidat ...
. The party's 2015 convention was held in
Abita Springs, Louisiana
Abita Springs is a town in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census, up from 1,957 in 2000. It is part of the New Orleans– Metairie– Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Abi ...
.
History
The Green Party of Louisiana was founded during a two-day convention which took place on August 31 and September 1, 2002, in
. The party was recommended for accreditation with the GPUS in 2003 and was officially qualified by the State of Louisiana on August 8, 2005.
In 2016, Dr.
Jill Stein
Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidat ...
was the party's nominated candidate for president.
Candidates
In 2001, former
Black Panther Party member and community organizer
Malik Rahim
Malik Rahim (born Donald Guyton in 1948) is an American housing and prison activist based since the late 1990s in the New Orleans area of Louisiana, where he grew up. In 2005 Rahim gained national publicity as a community organizer in New Orlean ...
ran for
City Council (at-large). Although the Green Party had not achieved ballot status in Louisiana, his candidacy was supported and endorsed by the nascent party, and the press recognized Rahim as a Green. His platform centered on criminal justice reform, workers rights (including a
living wage
A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking lab ...
referendum), and housing issues.
In 2003, the party fielded three candidates. Jason Neville ran for
Louisiana State Senate in District 3, the first Green to qualify for state office. He finished in third place with 1,528 votes. Dan Thompson ran for
Louisiana House of Representatives in District 105 and garnered 1,152 votes, finishing fourth (8%).
Les Evenchick also ran for a House seat in District 93 and garnered 754 votes.
In 2008, Rahim was the Green Party's nominee for
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans and stretches west and north to Baton Rouge. The district is currently represented by Democrat Troy Carter. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+25, ...
. His campaign included promises to enforce the
Davis-Bacon Act, to push for reopening
Charity Hospital
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
, and to protect wetlands. The post-Katrina "right of return" for displaced residents was also a major theme. He finished third in a four-way race with 1,883 votes (2.82%).
A special election was held for
Louisiana's 5th congressional district
Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida paris ...
in 2013, and Eliot Barron ran for the office on the Green ticket, finishing 12th (out of 14) with 492 votes (0.5%). Barron ran again for the same office in 2014, finishing in 9th and last place with 1,655 votes (0.69%).
In 2015, Adrian "Ace" Juttner ran for
Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, the first Green to seek statewide office in Louisiana. He ran a low-budget campaign, on a platform which emphasized the benefits of legalizing marijuana and protecting honeybees. Although he finished in fourth place, with 36,180 votes (3.5%), this marked the Green Party's strongest showing in Louisiana to date, in terms of total votes or percentage, surpassing even Nader's 2000 presidential run (see below).
Barron again sought congressional office in 2016, this time in
Louisiana's 1st district; he finished in 6th place (out of 7) with 6,717 votes (2.1%).
In 2018, Morgan Moss Jr. ran for mayor of
Rayville and finished second in a field of three with 219 votes, representing 37% of the vote.
In 2021, Bart Everson ran for New Orleans City Council At-Large as a "climate change activist." He got 6.51% or 4,776 votes.
Advocacy
After the
2016 Louisiana floods
In August 2016, prolonged rainfall from an unpredictable storm resulted in catastrophic flooding in the state of Louisiana, United States; thousands of houses and businesses were submerged. Louisiana's governor, John Bel Edwards, called the disas ...
, the party called for "the rapid elimination of the fossil fuel economy" in the face of climate catastrophe.
Presidential nominee results
References
External links
Official website*Reasonator:
{{Green Party of the United States
2002 establishments in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
Political parties established in 2002
Political parties in Louisiana